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Microsoft 365 Apps Group Policy settings

2,420 settings · 5568.1000 · 10 Aug 2026

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Microsoft Outlook 2016 › Miscellaneous › PST Settings

Prevent users from adding PSTs to Outlook profiles and/or prevent using Sharing-Exclusive PSTs

UserNeeds changes for IntuneL_Preventusersfromaddingpsts

Supported on SUPPORTED_Windows7 (defined in the Windows templates)

What it does

By default, users can add PSTs to their Outlook profiles and can use Sharing-Exclusive PSTs for storing SharePoint Lists and Internet Calendars. You can use this setting to limit users' ability to store mail in a decentralized fashion. You can block the use of PSTs completely, but be aware that blocking all PSTs disables Outlook features such as SharePoint Lists and Internet Calendar. If instead you allow only Sharing-Exclusive PSTs to be added to user profiles, PST usage is still limited but the Outlook features that rely on special PSTs are not disabled. The setting that allows Sharing-Exclusive PSTs to be added blocks users from creating new folders in the Sharing-Exclusive PST; copying existing mail folders from their default store to the PST; and copying individual mail items to the root of the PST.

What it writes

Hive
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Registry key
software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\outlook
Why it needs changes for Intune
  • Policy references a Windows supportedOn definition.
  • ADMX-INTUNE-WINDOWS-SUPPORTEDON-REFERENCE

Options

OptionTypeRegistry valueAllowed values
L_empty78Default: (default) PSTs can be added Drop-down list disablepst
  • (default) PSTs can be added0
  • No PSTs can be added1
  • Only Sharing-Exclusive PSTs can be added2

Configure and deploy

Choose a state and the option values; the output below is generated from the template for exactly that.

State
Options used when Enabled

Enabled · User · template defaults

Registry file (.reg)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\outlook]
"disablepst"=dword:00000000


PowerShell

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Prevent users from adding PSTs to Outlook profiles and/or prevent using Sharing-Exclusive PSTs
# Name: L_Preventusersfromaddingpsts
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: outlk16.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\outlook' -Name 'disablepst' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 0
  • The OMA-URI is an inferred ADMX-backed Policy CSP candidate derived from the source ADMX file name and policy name.
  • Some Microsoft policies use built-in Policy CSP pages whose area names don't match the ADMX file name, so verify the candidate against Microsoft Learn before deployment.

ADMX profile candidate (OMA-URI)

./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_outlk16/L_Preventusersfromaddingpsts

ADMX SyncML candidate

<SyncML xmlns="SYNCML:SYNCML1.2">
  <SyncBody>
    <Replace>
      <CmdID>1</CmdID>
      <Item>
        <Meta>
          <Format>chr</Format>
          <Type>text/plain</Type>
        </Meta>
        <Target>
          <LocURI>./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_outlk16/L_Preventusersfromaddingpsts</LocURI>
        </Target>
        <Data>&lt;enabled/&gt;
&lt;data id="L_empty78" value="0"/&gt;</Data>
      </Item>
    </Replace>
    <Final/>
  </SyncBody>
</SyncML>
Intune remediation scripts

Detection

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$reasons = [System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]::new()

function Test-RegistryValueExists {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    return $null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
}

function Test-RegistryValueEquals {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Kind,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Expected
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    $valueObject = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($null -eq $valueObject) {
        return $false
    }

    $actual = $valueObject.$Name
    switch ($Kind) {
        'String' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'ExpandString' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'DWord' { return [uint32]$actual -eq [uint32]$Expected }
        'QWord' { return [uint64]$actual -eq [uint64]$Expected }
        'MultiString' {
            $actualArray = @($actual)
            $expectedArray = @($Expected)
            if ($actualArray.Count -ne $expectedArray.Count) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Count; $index++) {
                if ([string]$actualArray[$index] -cne [string]$expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        'Binary' {
            $actualArray = [byte[]]$actual
            $expectedArray = [byte[]]$Expected
            if ($actualArray.Length -ne $expectedArray.Length) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Length; $index++) {
                if ($actualArray[$index] -ne $expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        default { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
    }
}

# Policy: Prevent users from adding PSTs to Outlook profiles and/or prevent using Sharing-Exclusive PSTs
# Name: L_Preventusersfromaddingpsts
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: outlk16.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\outlook' -Name 'disablepst' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 0
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\outlook\disablepst') | Out-Null
}

if ($reasons.Count -eq 0) {
    Write-Output 'Compliant'
    exit 0
}

$reasons | ForEach-Object { Write-Output $_ }
exit 1

Remediation

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Prevent users from adding PSTs to Outlook profiles and/or prevent using Sharing-Exclusive PSTs
# Name: L_Preventusersfromaddingpsts
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: outlk16.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\outlook' -Name 'disablepst' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 0

History 1 retained release

  1. 5568.100010 Aug 2026
    • Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.

Template

Internal name
L_Preventusersfromaddingpsts
Namespace
outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows
Template file
outlk16.admx
Release
Microsoft 365 Apps 5568.1000 · file set 8be05d876aae137d…
Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy class="User" displayName="$(string.L_Preventusersfromaddingpsts)" explainText="$(string.L_PreventusersfromaddingpstsExplain)" key="software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\outlook" name="L_Preventusersfromaddingpsts" presentation="$(presentation.L_Preventusersfromaddingpsts)" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_PSTSettings" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows7" />
      <elements>
        <enum id="L_empty78" valueName="disablepst">
          <item displayName="$(string.L_Defaultpstscanbeadded)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="0" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_Nopstscanbeadded)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="1" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_onlysharingexclusivepstscanbeadded)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="2" />
            </value>
          </item>
        </enum>
      </elements>
    </policy>

Editor controls

<presentation id="L_Preventusersfromaddingpsts" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <dropdownList defaultItem="0" noSort="true" refId="L_empty78">
        </dropdownList>
      </presentation>

Supported platforms and category

outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_MicrosoftOfficeOutlook
<category displayName="$(string.L_MicrosoftOfficeOutlook)" name="L_MicrosoftOfficeOutlook" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_Miscellaneous
<category displayName="$(string.L_Miscellaneous)" name="L_Miscellaneous" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficeOutlook" />
    </category>
outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_PSTSettings
<category displayName="$(string.L_PSTSettings)" name="L_PSTSettings" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_Miscellaneous" />
    </category>
outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:unresolved:Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows7
<unresolved reference="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows7" />
outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_MicrosoftOfficeOutlook
<category displayName="$(string.L_MicrosoftOfficeOutlook)" name="L_MicrosoftOfficeOutlook" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficeOutlook">Microsoft Outlook 2016</string></strings>
outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_Miscellaneous
<category displayName="$(string.L_Miscellaneous)" name="L_Miscellaneous" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficeOutlook" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_Miscellaneous">Miscellaneous</string></strings>
outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_PSTSettings
<category displayName="$(string.L_PSTSettings)" name="L_PSTSettings" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_Miscellaneous" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="outlk16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_PSTSettings">PST Settings</string></strings>
ChangeIntel

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Sources read 18 Oct 22:28 UTC · 253 of 255 readable · 252 fully read · documentation 0/410 current